{ Islam from inside }

(Sura 9: verses 102 to 106) - On Repentance

"And others have confessed their faults, they have mingled a good
deed and an evil one; (perhaps) Allah will turn to them (mercifully);
surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Take alms out of their property, you would cleanse them and
purify them thereby, and pray for them; surely your prayer is a relief
to them; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.

Do they not know that Allah accepts repentance from His servants
and takes the alms, and that Allah is the Oft-returning (to mercy), the
Merciful?

And say: Work; so Allah will see your work and (so will) His
Apostle and the believers; and you shall be brought back to the Knower
of the unseen and the seen, then He will inform you of what you did.

And others are made to await Allah's command, whether He chastise
them or whether He turn to them (mercifully), and Allah is Knowing,
Wise." (9:102-106)

These verses emerged as the result of a precarious situation faced by
Muslims when a near rebellion rose up in Medina while the
Prophet was away at Tabuk with the main force of his followers. They
describe
the condition of the second of two groups of people involved in the
rebellion - those who were temporarily swayed by specious arguments but
whose hearts were not full of rancor but merely clouded with confusion
and doubt. The other group were the hypocrites, some of whom were known
but many of whom would only emerge at a later time in a series of
attempts to create dissension. They are mentioned in this verse:

"And from among those who are round about you of the
dwellers of the desert there are hypocrites, and from among the people
of Medina (also); they are stubborn in hypocrisy; you do not know them;
We know them...." (Qur'an 9:101)

The hearts of the hypocrites were overthrown by ill-feeling, scheming,
and by the continuous deception that was necessary to conceal their
malice towards the
believers and maintain their belief in the superiority of their own
concealed ideology. Their attempts to deceive others ensared them in a
series
of self-deceptions that caused them to lose the reality of their own
nature. By immersing themselves in malicious and imposturous behavior
it was as if they
entered a maze of distorting mirrors so that they were no longer
capable of knowing their
true image, their true self, their true belief. Driven by their
loathing of the Prophet they were caught in the trap of feeding
their lower nafs with their malice and anger - this became the decider
of
their actions, the source from which
their decisions and their deeds sprang. The lower
and higher became transposed in them - so they gave
themselves over to that which was lower and less worthy and became
stubbornly resentful
of the demands of that which is higher and more worthy since it took
away from the more visceral gratification of a resentful and spiteful
ego.

Then the second group is mentioned:

"And others have confessed their
faults, they have mingled a
good deed and an evil one; perhaps Allah will turn to them
(mercifully);
surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." (Qur'an 9:102)
This verse indicates that, by contrast, there are those who mix good
and bad - but that which is
evil in their actions emerges from a temporary succumbing to their
lower nature rather than a wholesale immersion in it. When clarity
returns to them, they see this
temporary slipping as a fault and stuggle to correct it wheras the
hypocrite's egos will not allow such a correction and in fact will
drive them to further hostility.

For these others, even though they
slip and falter they nevertheless struggle to see themselves and
measure themselves
according to the higher standards and criteria set for
human beings in the Qur'an. They have not turned away from this goal as
they know
that any
movement towards it, no matter how halting and stumbling that
movement, is better than irredeemably slipping
backwards off a precipice. It is as
if there is an attractor, a model of what a human being should be, and
out
of a natural attraction to this model
people struggle forward and measure themselves against it. Some have
temporarily strayed or deviated but rather than justify their error
they turn in repentance to regain what has slipped from them. There is
some recognition within them of the reality of the covenant (see note) and bond which
they have, through ignorance or error, violated. They fall
short but what is important is the attraction and the attempt at
movement - as long as these are present, the Qur'an states that Alllah
will turn to them
Mercifully.

Note: We are asked to
be mindful of our creation by Allah - and to remember
from where we emerged as a human being. Before man emerged into this
world - God asked all the human souls ‟Am I not your Lord? And they
replied,‛Yes! Of this we bear witness!’‟ (Qur'an 7:172) The Qur’an
reminds us of this pact and asks us, while we are in this world to
awaken to an internal recognition of the reality of this witness if
possible [to
return (to turn in repentance) towards this covenant] or
to, as Muslims, consent towards it even if we do not comprehend it's
reality."
"Take alms out of their property, you
would cleanse them and
purify them thereby, and pray for them; surely your prayer is a relief
(solace)
to them; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing." (Qur'an 9:103)

Here, as part of His mercy, God is asking the Prophet to intervene on
behalf of these Muslims. He is bringing them to actions that will
strengthen them in their inner selves and make their forward motion
less halting, less faltering, less prone to slipping. The giving of
charity is a form of repentance - it is a movement from inner
repentance
- a mental repentance to outer confirmation of that repentance through
concrete action. Often a person can make a mental determination, and
then let the actual effect of that
determination, that repentance slip away by not actualizing it through
word, action, or deed.

It's important to follow
up an inner decision by some positive concrete action to cement and
reinforce the inner by the outer. Often this only happens in a negative
manner - we grow angry and make a negative inner determination and then
don't hesitate to follow this up by words of anger or actions
demonstrating our anger. But, depending on the circumstances, this may
be a reinforcing of a lower aspect of
our nafs. The anger originates from our lower self - then we act on
that, reinforcing and strengthing something that has a low origin, a
low nature. However, when we make an inner repentance we often leave it
within us, not concretizing it through an outer word or action. Leaving
that repentance as solely an inner repentance is also a giving in to
our lower selves, as it is perhaps stubborness or pride or laziness or
distraction that locks it within
us, not allowing it to emerge and take on a greater, more established
reality.

Here, Allah is bestowing a gift of guidance on these Muslims who have
repented inwardly, by directing them to a strengthening of their
repentance - drawing it from the amorphous, unformed repentance within
their soul, into a concrete, actualized repentance whose reality is
demonstrated through action. And this in turn, as in a feedback loop,
acts upon their inner selves, purifying and lifting their nafs from its
stumble. It is as if they have stumbled and fallen and Allah has lifted
them to their feet so they can continue on towards their goal. And he
has strengthened them and made them grow inwardly.

"Do they not know that Allah accepts
repentance from His
servants and takes the alms, and that Allah is the Oft-returning (to
mercy), the Merciful?" (Qur'an 9:104)

The alms go to those who are in need of alms - but the effect of a pure
repentance backed by concrete action is that the action is lifted,
exalted. It enters the presence of Allah, it elevates beyond this
world, so that it becomes like a prayer, a type of worship whose spirit
rises up and presents itself before God. And "Allah accepts the
repentance...and takes the alms." The alms are given as a
concrete
symbol of repentance, the repentance is to Allah (although its benefit
is to us) - it is seeking
forgiveness from Allah - the outward sign of the repentance is sadaqa,
it is offered to Allah since all repentance is to Him, and His
acceptance of the alms is a sign of His Mercy towards the one who
repents.

Why is it that Allah accepts the repenter with such mercy - especially
when the sin commited might be a serious sin. It is perhaps because the
repentance is a sign of life within the inner spirit of the person -
the reason Allah asks for the repentance to take a concrete form is to
feed that spirit and strengthen it while it's effects are manifestly
present.

"The spirit must be fed and strengthened with sincere worship and
devotion. But when it is
starved, the subsequent uneasiness is terrible....The reason is that an
exalted
power is imprisoned, denied, derided, and locked within
us....Repentance is a reaction of the 'exalted' spirit within the
human being against the lower self; a holy rebellion of the spirit
against the degradation and corruption occuring within." (Mutahhari, "Spiritual Discourses")

God provides His help and guidance - His reinforcement to that aspect
of the human self that reacts against wrongdoing. This is through His
Mercy,
His acceptance, and His strengthening (by the action of giving alms) of
the aspect of the human soul
that turns from wrongdoing.

"And say: Work; so Allah will see
your work and (so will) His
Apostle and the believers; and you shall be brought back to the Knower
of the unseen and the seen, then He will inform you of what you did."
(Qur'an 9:105)

Here, the importance of action is given a solid thump of reinforcement.
We all have inner convictions and determinations, we all have
intentions and aims that are beneficial to ourselves and to those
around us. For many of us these convictions and determinations and
intentions often live and die within us - for if a determination goes
neglected
for
too long without any attempt to realize it, it may fade and die. If we
try and manifest it in action, in character, we will achieve varying
degrees of success but God rewards according to the firmness and purity
of intention. The truth of that firmness and purity manifests in the
sincerity and strength of our efforts to intelligently actualize that
intention.
However, an intention that remains only in the realm of
our imagination and never emerges from the domain of vagueness is
perhaps not as firm an intention as we believed. So we are counselled
to pray for purity and firmness of intention and to act on intention to
bring it from the realm of mental construct to realization in
character, behaviour, and deeds.

The importance of action is paramount - whether the act be a word, a
character trait, or a
physical action - it is important to bring out into the external world
that good which is swimming within your complex internal world - to
guide the outer through the inner. Those
whose intentions are low, base, crude, and destructive work day and
night to manifest their acquisitive, grasping intentions and ambitions
in the world -
why should those who seek the opposite leave it sleeping within
themselves.

This is not an easy task - but the stress laid on it and the
elaborations on it made elsewhere in the Qur'an make it clear that it
is necessary to
make the effort to manifest the inner spirit in the outer world - to
impact the human and societal environment in positive, beneficial ways
arising from what is best within oneself. Find what is best within
yourself, choose something of which you have a correct understanding
and knowledge, deepen that knowledge, and act with sincere intention
and as the Qur'an
commands "in the most beautiful
(ihsan) manner" since "....He
desires to manifest to you, which of you is best in action...."
(Qur'an 11: 7)

After that, if there are errors or slips or failures in realizing the
goal or in what is done, don't worry,
as 9:105 says, "the Knower of the
unseen and the seen...will inform you of what
you did." Intentions and actions will not be lost - they
will first and foremost
be manifest in all their dimensions to Allah. Then in a lower degree,
they will be be manifest to the Prophet, and finally, in a lower degree
to the believers. "Allah will see your work and (so will) His
Apostle and the believers...." (9:105) There are profound
connotations to this
verse concerning the manner in which these actions will become known to
the
Prophet and the momineen.

"And others are made to await Allah's
command, whether He
chastise them or whether He turn to them (mercifully), and Allah is
Knowing, Wise." (Qur'an 9:106)

Other's who seek forgiveness are in a state of suspension awaiting the
decision of what their status will be (following the events of Tabuk).
These are those who seek mercy but their repentance is shadowed with
doubt because they still harbor an internal reluctance. They
have placed themselves in a middling state between hypocrisy and
repentance - they are on the fine edge of these two states. And this
verse is encouragement to them to awaken what is necessary within
themselves to choose the path of repentance. The path to attaining
repentance has already been made clear in the preceding verses - the
process of sincere inner struggle and outward establishment and
concretization of that sincere repentance has been described and the
hope of mercy made clear. Now they are in a suspended state and they
can toggle themselves, through the nature that is within them, to a
state of repentance - or they can grow proud and stubborn and turn to
hypocrisy. The verses are a profound encouragement to them to
seek the exalted staus of repentance and its accompanying mercy and
transformation.

-Irshaad Hussain

Origins of Repentance

"If man, after his rebellion and expulsion from the abode of
original
creation, does not repent and take up the path that leads back to the
origin, he finds that he is estranged from himself and the world around
him. Thus unreconciled, he embarks upon various attempts to interpret
and justify the world, man, and the human situation, which includes his
own profound alienation.

Man’s reality goes back to his connection, relation, and bond with
God.
It transcends space and time and lies in eternity. Hence in the divine
interpretation of man, which is man’s true interpretation, there is
mention of God speaking with man in the morning of pre-eternity and
before there “was” any space or external and concrete existence. Hence
the covenant made between God and man in that dialogue, on terms that
spoke of man’s obedience to Him and the avoidance of the worship of
Satan, is not in any way colored by the demands of time and space.
This covenant then, once it has dusted itself free of temporal
limitations, makes time and space themselves sacred and gains the
capacity and potential to be fulfilled in all periods and all places.
God in the Qur’ān says, “Did I not charge you, O children of Adam!
that
you should not serve Satan? Surely he is your open enemy, and that you
should serve Me; this is the right way.” (Qur'an 36: 60, 61)

The primordial covenant is an ever-present reality for man.
Consequently the path of repentance and return to God is always open.
God is forever calling man. He calls him to repent and calls Himself
the Accepter of repentance. He says, “O you who believe! turn to
God a
sincere turning…”

Note:
Tawbah, or repentance in Islam, consistent with its etymological root,
gives more the meaning of objective “return” than that of moral
penitence and emotional regret. The latter is not absent from the
Islamic scheme but is not as emphasised as it is in the Christian
tradition.

When Adam (upon him be peace)...fell from paradise, God showed him
the
path of repentance. Adam accepted this path and repented, and God
accepted his repentance. This is described in the Qur’ān in the
following manner, “Then Adam received (some) words from his Lord,
so He
turned to him mercifully; surely He is Oft-returning (to mercy), the
Merciful.”

The prophets and saints are exemplars for humanity who have
remained
true to the divine covenant throughout human history and, as a result,
each and every one of them is a source of grace in the natural
world. They are like... springs which, every once in a while,
surge forth onto the plane of temporal history and create thereby a
culture and civilization that is rooted in the sacred and in accord
with man's heavenly dimension...."

(Excerpted from "Existence
and the Fall" by Hamid Parsania - translated by Shuja Mirza)

About this article

Anyone who reads the Qur'an is likely to be struck by the unique
nature of its construction, its unusual and constantly shifting rhythms
and the sudden transmutations and displacements in its subject matter.
At first this ever changing literary terrain seems an obstacle to
understanding, but the more time one spends with this book, the more
organic, the more natural
the flow of its words feel. It is almost like flying over an
ever-changing landscape - rolling valleys punctuated by jagged rocks,
forests and plains giving way to upthrust mountains, high plateaus
broken by deep lakes, deserts sprinkled with oasis' and cleft by
canyons. Despite the variety of the forms,
despite the startling contrast of adjacent features, a complex organic
beauty
underlies and unites all the various elements. These "tafsirs" emerged
from
numerous brief scattered notes made while reading the qur'an (along
with
numerous commentaries and the works of various scholars whose profound
analyses
strongly effected my views) and reflecting on its content. As well, for
a number of years I have participated in a hallakha, a qur'anic study
circle,
and many of the tafsirs presented here were originally researched for
presentation at that forum.